Guyana records 3 more COVID-19 deaths, 31 new cases in 24 hours

Three more persons have died owing to COVID-19 on Monday, taking the country’s death toll to 114 – with 32 deaths already recorded in the month of October.
This was announced by the Health Ministry, who noted that all three persons were women from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica). One was 74 years of age while the other two were 64.
Along with the fatalities, there were also 31 new cases, which increased the total confirmed positives to 3765. The number of persons in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) decreased by one and now stands at 12.
Meanwhile, there are 74 persons in institutional isolation, 19 in home isolation and 55 in institutional quarantine. After 115 persons recovered, there are now 2749 total recoveries.
To date, 1973 males have contracted the virus as opposed to 1761 females.
A regional breakdown showed that one new case was detected in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); 25 in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) and five in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
Other regions did not see an increase in cases – with 603 in Region One (Barima-Waini); 61 in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); 25 in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice); 343 in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni); 124 in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni); 372 in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and 129 in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
It has been announced that 12 Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) Member States have signed agreements with GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance – namely Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos to access vaccines when they become available. CARPHA is assisting seven of these Member States with the down payment.
Guyana is among a list of countries, including Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, St Lucia, as well as St Vincent and the Grenadines that automatically qualify to access the Vaccine Alliance.
Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony during the COVID-19 update informed Guyana was one of 10 countries to benefit under a different scheme, whereby GAVI would be handling the initial costs.
“We are now part of the COVAX mechanism…We have been able to benefit under a different scheme, so we were not required to pay because there’re 10 countries in the Caribbean that GAVI is going to pay for. They’re going to take care of our initial costs for vaccines so we were not required to pay,” the Minister highlighted.
According to CARPHA, the down payment stands at approximately 15 per cent of the value of vaccines that countries intend to procure in the future.
As part of the agreement, the Pan American Health Organisation will receive funds from CARPHA for transfer to GAVI. When the vaccines are available, Member States will purchase them through the PAHO Revolving Fund.
In the meantime, Guyanese were reminded to observe the protocols, which are in effect until October 31, 2020. The protocols emphasise the need for correct and consistent use of a face mask when leaving your home, the importance of maintaining six feet of physical distance from others, and practising good hand-hygiene to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
If anyone is displaying any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, or need any additional information, kindly contact the COVID-19 Hotline 231-1166, 226-7480 or 624-6674 immediately, or visit www.health.gov.gy.